Dilemma
by liekomfgits kate
Summary: In which Rose Weasley craves adventure and excitement and Scorpius Malfoy likes to do homework and prove that he is, in fact, his father's son. Sort of. DH Epilogue compliant. SM/RW. Rated M for language/implied sex/torture.


**DISCLAIMER: Don't own these characters, I don't make money off of them, they are the sole property of J.K. Rowling (as much as I wish I owned a Malfoy...) and I'm a poor college student so please don't sue!**

**A/N: This is a continuation of The Color Red and is in the same universe as my other story, See Right Through Me (which you don't have to read in order to read this one, although reading The Color Red would help a lot.) It features Scorpius/Rose love and is slightly less fluffy and slightly more angsty, as par usual Kate fanfiction. The rating is higher for use of swear words and implied sex but it's not graphic because it doesn't need to be. This is both DH and Epilogue friendly and the characters are 17, Lily is 15, and if anyone knows how old Hugo is supposed to be, please tell me!**

**Unedited as of now, will be correcting that later. The reason why it has such a pointless and stupid name is actually because I, the author, faced a serious dilemma of either naming something REALLY stupid or having to write more of the story have it make sense. Neither one sounded appealing and I chose the first option and gave it the name as attempted irony.**

**As a side note: the Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy are both like and unlike their parents (meaning Hermione and Draco, I love Ron but I disregard his contributions to little Rosie almost entirely and Astoria is a mystery). I succeeded a little bit better with Scorpius but hopefully Rose is both the same and different from her mummy. Just so y'all know.**

* * *

Rose was sitting in the Gryffindor common room with her cousins and brother who were all watching her pointedly. There was really only so much a girl could take. Albus was constantly clearing his throat, Hugo was coughing, and Lily was...well Lily was currently prodding her side rather sharply.

Finally she threw down the quill Scorpius had given her and scowled at them, crossing her arms.

"What?" Oops. She hadn't meant to sound so harsh.

Lily recoiled from her arm and Albus widened his green eyes at her, faking an expression of hurt. Hugo just grinned – she was his sister, after all.

Al was grinning at her now. "Rosie," he singsonged, "your neck is currently covered by a series of red marks that, I do believe, probably didn't come from studying."

Her hand flew to her neck. "Oh," she squeaked, feeling embarrassed, "how bad is it?"

"Bad," the three voices chorused at once.

"Where were you?" Lily questioned, her eyes impossibly wide and innocent looking. "You didn't come back to the common room after dinner and I waited for you until 1 AM!"

Rose's mind whirled. What to say? What to say? "Scorpius and I were going over graduation plans," she managed to spit out.

Now Al was nodding seriously. "Right. So these plans...did they involve your neck?"

Lily snorted and Hugo was coughing again.

"I don't know how you do it," Lily remarked. "When I have a boyfriend, I can barely focus. Yet both you and Scorpius manage to have almost perfect grades still. How in Merlin's left buttocks do you manage that?"

Al rolled his eyes at his younger sister. "Well, um, passing over Merlin's left buttocks, I heard rumors that Scorpius quit the Quidditch team. Why did he do that? He's probably the only thing that makes Slytherin's team somewhat decent."

Rose hadn't expected him to ask her that. Shrugging and glancing longingly at her unfinished Ancient Runes essay, she snapped, "You know Scorpius doesn't like flying. It makes him queasy."

Lily sighed, leaning back into the couch. "That's too bad. You could have had a gorgeous bloke who was also on a Quidditch team as a boyfriend. Instead you have a gorgeous bloke who isn't on a Quidditch team and is just about as stuffy and boring as you can be."

That hurt. "Scorpius is NOT boring," she ground out. "He just likes studying. He wants to do well in school, just like me. He can be very interesting. Just because you three sods hate schoolwork doesn't mean Scorpius and I can't enjoy it. We live lives filled with excitement and constant danger. I mean, hello, we're Prefects. I got jinxed TWICE last week. Anyways, he's terrified of heights and you know that, Al."

She looked at her cousin, who was doubled over with silent mirth.

"What is so funny?"

Albus just shook his head, laughing.

Lily sighed happily, smiling brightly at her. "Tell me," she pleaded, "what's it like going out with him? I mean, considering you two were best friends? You're the only one of us who has been dating for over a year!"

"We're still best friends," Rose said automatically. Lily's words had made her wonder, even made her feel panicky.

So far, their friendship hadn't really changed. They still spent a lot of time studying. They hung out during every Hogsmeade trip but they had always done that so that wasn't different either. She supposed the only thing that really changed was the added bonus of being able to drag him to an empty corridor and snog him silly. Well, that and the fact that he had two titles now. He was Rose Weasley's Best Friend and also her Boyfriend.

But what would happen if they broke up? She never really thought about the possibility of them breaking up. It seemed ludicrous. Ever since she met him all nervous and shy on the train their First Year, she had known that he would always be a big, important part of her life.

She'd like to think they'd be good enough friends to remain best friends but wouldn't that be weird? What if Scorpius found someone else? She tried to imagine him kissing another girl but that just made her fists clench and her face redden with anger.

The summer had been the best. Not only was her father horribly annoyed at having to drop her off, but she got an entirely brother-free summer. Albus and Lily had visited them, smiling the whole time. She wanted to remind Lily of this, that she had spent time with them and that Scorpius was anything but boring.

There had been awkward moments, sure. Like the time Mr. Malfoy had barged into his room without any announcement only to find his son tangled up on his bed with his hand up her shirt. Or when his mum and dad had gotten into a huge row that culminated in Mrs. Malfoy storming out in a fit of rage. Scorpius hadn't said anything about that, but he had been crying. He told her his parents did that a lot, that he suspected they would probably divorce soon.

Rose held his hand and told him about the four month period in which her dad had to sleep on the living room couch because her mum would hex him every time he got near her. It hadn't helped, of course, but it eased the tension a bit.

Then there had been the time when they had sneaked down to the kitchen to beg the house elves for a midnight snack, only to discover Rose's mum deep in discussion with Mr. Malfoy. Without her father present. That had been odd, especially since both of them swore later on that Mr. Malfoy had called her mum a 'saucy little wench' and her mum had blushed prettily and waved away his comment. Okay, so that was less awkward and more weird. To her, at least. Scorpius thought it was hilarious. Until she pointed out that if, for some reason, their parents divorced their spouses and married each other, that would make them step-siblings and then dating would be out of the question. He shut up after that.

But the weird/awkward times didn't outweigh the good times. Didn't even come close. Rose had carefully listed everything that happened to make sure her feelings on the whole thing were correct, that she had really enjoyed being with him. She suspected that the summer might have been slightly less enjoyable if they hadn't been dating.

She knew her cousins thought their relationship was weird; they hardly ever got into fights. There were only two times she could ever remember even raising her voice in anger, once in Second Year when he'd spilled pumpkin juice all down her front as a joke gone wrong and once in Fifth Year when he threatened to hex off Nate's genitals when he had made her cry.

Of course, that wasn't why Nate thought Scorpius was a bastard. He had snarled something about how the boy was a Malfoy, and ergo bad. Which was furthest from the truth. She knew all about Mr. Malfoy's past but it didn't matter to her because he was surprisingly nice and joked around a lot. He was also more even tempered than her own father, who would turn tomato red and start yelling at the slightest thing. His dad was surprisingly calm, considering the many times he'd discovered them in the Manor, engaged in activities that would give Madam Pince a heart attack. He had always been nice to her, polite to her dad, and friendly to her mum. He had even joined them in an impromptu Quidditch match when Albus and Lily had come over.

Of course, it was the weirdest Quidditch match ever and Scorpius was green-faced for a half hour after but it was still fun. She had flown with him, her hatred of flying rivaling his hatred of heights.

So she had every right to be offended by Nate.

Albus was waving a hand in her face. Snapping back to the present, Rose pushed his hand away and sighed. "What?"

Albus laughed at her. "Earth to Rose," he teased.

Rose stood up, packing her books away. "I've got to go, Scorpius and I have a study date planned."

"Your eyes are gleaming," Al gasped in shock. "Honestly, Rose, you're the only person who actually gets excited about going to study."

Hugo was giggling. "She's not happy she gets to study, Al. She's happy 'cos she gets to see her boyfriend," he singsonged.

"Oh, Scorpius," Al mimicked, "I love it when you run your long fingers over...your parchment!"

"Haha, very funny. You're so witty and clever, Al. I bet people would pay you...to shut your big, fat mouth!"

Even Lily was grinning. Traitor!

Hugo snorted, "Oh Scorpius, you're so sexy when you write out that potions essay, you can write essays at any time!"

Albus grinned at her. "You know, Rose. Most of the kids around here think you guys are either faking going out because Scorpius is gay or that you guys really have no lives."

"That's not true. We have lives. And we do very exciting and adventurous things."

Lily was laughing at her now. Someone was knocking on the door. Relieved, she grabbed her essay and prepared to storm off. Scorpius was leaning against the wall. He beamed at her when he saw her and she grabbed his hand and hurried off before he could hear Albus and Hugo still teasing them and their studious habits.

They were heading towards the Room of Requirement and for once, it was Scorpius who was out of breath. "Rose. Rose! Slow down!"

She was walking as fast as she could when he grabbed her arm. "Rose, come on, what's wrong?"

Pacing back and forth three times in front of the bare stretch of wall, she reached for the door, mentally crossing her fingers. The room was decorated, as usual, in an array of Slytherin and Gryffindor colors, looking for the world like a gaudy mocking of Christmas. Set up in the corner was an accurate replica of their corner in the library. The only difference from what they normally thought us was a huge, four poster bed with elegant satin coverings that was in the corner.

Scorpius grinned at her. "Planning on sleeping here tonight?" He arched his eyebrow at her. When she didn't respond, he pulled out some books and headed for the table. "Well, what do you want to start on first? We can practice the Shield Charm or we can work on that Potions essay."

She sighed. Maybe her cousins were right, they were a boring couple. Compared to what her mum and dad had done and even what Mr. Malfoy had seen, they had a very dull existence. Not that Scorpius even noticed; he liked to study and read and that's originally why she liked him so much. But now, when faced with the observations of her peers, she realized that they were pretty odd. Lily's words were ringing in her ears; "_...just about as stuffy and boring as you can be..._"

"Can we just talk or something? Or maybe we can sneak down to Hogsmeade! It's only 3 PM, we could hang out for a bit." She imagined Albus and Lily's jealous faces if she told them they spent the day in Hogsmeade when it wasn't even a Hogsmeade weekend.

Scorpius was looking at her as though she suddenly sprouted a second head. "But Rose, that essay is due tomorrow," he informed her, as if she didn't know already. She would have finished it already but she had been distracted by other things, like her boyfriend's mouth. She also attended Albus's Quidditch matches now, ever since he'd complained for three hours straight and nearly drove her batty.

"I know. But can't we do something fun?"

Now Scorpius was staring at her as she suddenly sprouted two heads, a tail, and told him she was actually a man named Lars who enjoyed cross-dressing. "Rose," he gasped, incredulously, "studying is both fun and incredibly important for our futures!"

She sighed. Lily won. Her boyfriend was very...stuffy. It never used to bother her but she found herself wanting to do things that the other girls did, to have something to brag about and make the other girls jealous.

She leaned over and kissed him impulsively. He ran his hand along her face before pulling away. "Rose, did you get jinxed or something? Are you okay?" The worry in his eyes was flattering. Him pulling away, however, was not.

"Can we at least study on the bed?"

He cocked his head at her in confusion. "Fine," he relented.

Moving around until they got comfortable, Scorpius immediately picked up his quill and began reading his Potions text, chewing on the end. Rose grumbled under her breath, unable to concentrate on the reading anymore. What was his problem? She knew she was pretty. Thank Merlin she had inherited her dad's blue eyes and hair texture. She thought her mum was pretty, sure, but she'd be lying if she said she wouldn't mind having gotten Hermione's bushy hair and brown eyes. She hated brown eyes. Scorpius had silvery-gray eyes, the color of moonlight.

She tried moving closer to him. He just shifted, finger running over the words in his book. She tried yawning loudly and running her hands through her red hair that she wore down especially for him. He just looked at her, eyes concerned and asked if she was tired and if she wanted to call it a night. She announced loudly that it was awfully warm and took off her robes, making as much noise as possible. He suggested she cast a cooling charm.

That's it. Her boyfriend may have been smart, charming, and absolutely beautiful in every way but she had finally found a flaw: the boy was completely barmy in the head!

They were seventeen! He was a boy! She thought his hormones should be running around rampantly; hers seemed to be. Even if she didn't happen to be pretty, she was still female. The fact that many boys did, in fact, find her attractive should have only proven her case even more. And he was a boy, he should be begging for it. Short of throwing herself at him or coming out with it and announcing that she wanted to have sex, she didn't know what to do. Nate hadn't asked. Not that they slept together or anything but they did get awfully close.

"Scorpius," she said, running her hand lightly up his thigh. That got his attention alright.

His eyes widened. "Rose, I-," he stammered anxiously, looking adorably flustered, "I, um, well, we should be, like, well I mean, we're Prefects, and this, um, I don't think...can we just do homework?" He was in full Nervous Scorpius Mode, tugging at his collar with shaking fingers, blushing violently, and looking everywhere but her face.

She knew him well enough to be able to decipher Nervous Scorpius Ramble Speech and knew what happened. He'd turned her down. He didn't want to. He didn't want _her_. That hurt, more than she thought it should.

She started gathering her books, happy that her hair was long and down and hanging in front of her face. She was about to cry and she really didn't want to cry. He was reaching for her hand. "Rose, I didn't, I mean, I'm sorry, don't cry, please?"

She pushed him away. "No, it's perfectly alright, I get it. I'm not pretty enough, is that it? You know, I'm starting to believe all those rumors about you being gay. Good riddance to the Malfoy line," she snarled, scathingly.

He was staring at her, hurt expression making her want to throw her arms around him and apologize but just as suddenly the look was gone, replaced by a cold look she had never seen directed at her before. And then it was him who was snatching up his parchment and textbooks and him that was storming out of the door.

She was crying openly when she reentered the Gryffindor common room. She allowed Lily to drag her over the a secluded corner, Albus and Hugo in tow, vaguely heard Albus snarl threateningly at someone making a smart remark.

"Oh, Rosie, what's wrong?" Lily asked, soothingly. She was stroking bits of flaming red hair back, tucking it behind Rose's ears.

"Don't touch me!" Rose roared, shoving Lily hard enough to knock the girl onto the floor.

Albus looked at her. "Rose, what's the matter? Did Scorpius do something to you? I swear to Merlin he'll bloody regret it..." Hugo was looking solemnly at her.

Albus tried to hug her but she pushed him away. "IT'S ALL YOUR FUCKING FAULT," she screamed, pulling at her hair and feeling terrible. "You-you..." She was shaking in rage. She watched their jaws drop. Calm little Rosie never swore, not loud enough for everyone to hear her, at least.

Hugo was kneeling before her now. "Come on, sissy," he murmured, "calm down. What happened?"

"You guys made me feel horrible, you guys were making fun of me," she mumbled, head buried in her arms. "I was just trying to be normal and he said 'no' and then I said something horrible."

She was biting her lip, mind in full panic mode. Tomorrow morning she would apologize. A lot. He had to listen to her, right? Scorpius was her best friend, he always had been. He was never able to be mad or annoyed with her for long, surely he wouldn't still be mad with her. But then again...she had never said something so hateful to him.

Apologizing to Lily and murmuring something about a headache and bed, she dragged herself to her dorm, ignoring the whispers and mutterings that followed.

She didn't feel any better the next morning. With a heavy heart, she yawned, having gotten barely any sleep due to the constant sobbing and the many plans she'd drawn up and then discarded. Deciding, once again, to just play it out, she walked with Albus and Hugo to breakfast.

It was weird. Scorpius had always met her and walked with her. Always. She had half hoped that he'd be standing there, smiling dazzlingly at her, completely willing to forgive her but he wasn't.

Scanning the Slytherin table, she found him quickly, considering he was the only boy who had white blond hair. And then her heart wrenched in her chest painfully and she felt like either crying, being violently sick right where she stood, or storming over and slapping Antigone's overly pleased smirk right off of her ugly face. Maybe, she considered, clenching her fists at her sides, maybe she would do all three. Or at least the slapping part. Then she'd be violently ill all over Antigone's expensive robes.

That sounded like a plan.

Scorpius was sitting there, his arm around _her _shoulders and smiling his dazzling, heart melting smile at _her_. Holding _her _hand. Rose never thought she'd ever be vicious or spiteful but her insides were churning and watching them was painful. Albus was gazing over at them, a look of contempt on his face.

"Ignore them, Rose," he pleaded but her feet were propelling her over there.

"Good morning," she said, swallowing. Scorpius didn't answer her, didn't acknowledge she was standing by them. She vaguely noticed the volume in the Great Hall had lowered by several decibels.

Antigone sneered. "What do you think you're doing, ruining our lovely breakfast?"

The Slytherin table was all smirks and dark looks. Scorpius had found his eggs and bacon amazingly interesting.

"I'm not here to talk to you," she snapped. "Scorpius, can I-"

"I'm sorry, Weasley,": he drawled, looking for the world like his father's son at that moment. "I don't think I'll be speaking to you anytime soon."

Damn. She was going to cry at any minute, she could feel the tears welling in her eyes. Reaching towards his hand, she begged, "Please, just for a minute?"

He moved his hand out of her grasp, glanced at his house mates, and, shrugging elegantly, stood up and followed her away from the prying eyes of Hogwarts.

"Scorpius, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she babbled, trying to brush her hand against his face.

He moved away from her, eyes narrowed to slits. "Get away from me," he hissed. "I don't want to catch what you have, you have Mudblood in your veins."

Her eyes widened in shock at him. "Scorpius, I'm trying to bloody apologize to you!"

He leaned against the wall. Tilted his head at her. "Does it look like I give a fuck?"

She recoiled from the angry tone in his voice. Scorpius never swore at her before, he'd never gazed at her with such contempt and hatred in his eyes. "Please, I-"

"I don't care about a fucking word that comes out of your filthy mouth," he drawled coldly. Turning to head back, he sneered at the hurt on her face. "Don't talk to me again. You are nothing to me, you hear. NOTHING."

He left her sobbing on the floor.

She remembered Hugo pulling her upright; he'd been the one to inherit their father's impressive height. Remembered him waving for Albus and Lily to crowd around her. And then the world spun dangerously and the floor rushed up to meet her and swallow her whole and then there was blissful nothingness.

Christmas break couldn't come fast enough for Rose. After she had been released from the infirmary, she had spent all her free time in the Room of Requirement, studying or sitting with Al, Lily, and Hugo, listening to them talk about nothing important. She still forgot that Scorpius was furious with her still, heading towards the Slytherin table before she realized it. Then she would register the hostile stares and turn around. Classes were absolutely horrible; she had always partnered up with Scorpius but he changed his seat so that he was sitting next to Antigone. She paired up with Al, but he was either being the class clown or making eyes at some girl and she ended up doing a lot of the work herself.

Not to mention all the rumors and whispers that had followed her for the first two weeks. She had never really paid much attention to the Slytherins before, they had always left her alone. But after the third Leg-Locker Jinx had sent her sprawling on her face, she was forced to conclude that it was mostly Scorpius's wrath that kept them in line.

She was silent the whole car ride home, even as Hugo rambled excitedly. She noticed her mum peering at her worriedly in the rear-view mirror and tried to paste a convincing smile across her face.

Christmas was at the Burrow as usual. Everyone was there and the house smelled amazing but all Rose wanted to do was sleep. After the third day, James was shaking her awake and ordering her to sit with her family. She complied, albeit grudgingly, but paid little attention on the conversation, wrapped up in various plots and plans concocted to get Scorpius to talk to her.

She honestly didn't even care if he didn't want to be with her romantically anymore. Well...she didn't care _too_ much. She missed her best friend, the one who was always there to defend her and the boy whose company she enjoyed so much.

She had forgiven his cruel demeanor a long time ago, knowing that it was his way of hiding his feelings. And she knew what she had said was equally cruel.

"Rose? Do you want some coffee, dear?"

She smiled weakly at her grandma and shook her head. No, she didn't want any bloody coffee. She wanted her partner in crime, her closest non-relative back. And she knew, as much as she tried to deny it, she wanted her boyfriend back.

Hugo, Albus, and Lily had wisely remained silent on Rose's changed behavior. They probably feared her retribution; the last time Al had tattled on her, she had cast her Aunt Ginny's Bat-Bogey Hex on him and refused to take it off him until her mum had forced her to.

Her grandmother was eying her worriedly. Her mum cleared her throat loudly and then turned towards Rose, smiling. "I have a surprise for you," she said.

Her dad raised his eyebrows. "I didn't hear about this."

"I don't share everything with you, Ron," her mum said loftily. Turning back to Rose, she said, "I've invited Mr. Malfoy and his son over for Christmas. It appears he's in the process of divorce and is staying with the boy at the Leaky Cauldron."

"Hermione! What?"

Uncle Harry was eying her mum suspiciously but she didn't seem to notice.

Her aunts and uncles looked disturbed by this. "Why did you invite a prat like him over?" Uncle George sneered.

Albus was staring horrified at Rose. She met his gaze and shook her head warningly. _Not a word._

James smirked, misinterpreting the look on Rose's face. Loudly, he announced, "Rose, weren't you friends with the spawn? Scorpion or something like that?"

And then the living room really exploded.

"WHAT?"

"No way, not our Rosie, she's too smart to do that!"

"It must be a joke."

"Haha, funny!"

"Maybe he Confunded her!"

"IT'S IMPERIO!"

Albus was throwing himself on James, who had opened his mouth again. "Shut up," he hissed. Lily was staring wide-eyed at Rose and Hugo was looking nervously towards Albus and James.

"Geroff me," James snapped, shoving at his young brother. "Hey, Rosie! Weren't you dating him?"

The room was dead silent. Albus slapped the back of his head, hard. "Shut it, you stupid git!"

"WHAT?!" This time it was her father roaring at her, his face growing red. "ROSE WEASLEY. YOU WEREN'T."

Her mum was standing in front of him, screaming as well. "Leave her alone, she's seventeen for Merlin's sake, she can do what she wants to!"

Her family was waiting for her response. "We, uh, broke up," she muttered, scowling darkly at James who laughed at her angry expression.

"Well good riddance, I say."

"Who ever heard of such a thing? A Weasley and a Malfoy? Certainly not in my lifetime!"

"He's probably scum like his good-for-nothing father. You're better off without him," James said, sitting there smugly.

"SHUT YOUR STUPID FUCKING MOUTH!" Rose shouted, throwing herself towards her cousin and slapping him soundly across his stunned face.

"Rose Weasley!" Her father was dragging her back but she was screaming and crying. Somewhere her mind was shouting that this was ridiculous, that she was seventeen and much too old to be screaming and crying. But then the sound of James' laughter invaded her ears, setting her off again.

"No, you, you bloody piece of shit, shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" She jerked her arm out of her father's grasp and it was only James pulling his wand out and shouting "_Impedimenta!"_ that saved him from being throttled by her again. Sprawled out on the floor, Rose cried openly.

"Rose Weasley, you are too old to be behaving this way. Especially over that boy. He is no good, look who his father is," her grandmother said, smiling kindly at her.

Her father was in the middle of a heated whispered argument with her mum but at his own mum's voice, he raised his glass and drained it, saying, "Hear, hear!"

James was looking at her oddly, sitting next to his embarrassed looking mum and dad. Al was looking at her nervously, Lily was staring at her hands, and Hugo had a mournful expression. "Don't do anything stupid, Rose," he mouthed at her.

She'd had it with her family. "I hate you," she hissed venomously at James. "I fucking hate you and I hope you fucking die, you stupid son of a bitch!"

"ROSE," her father began but she cut him off.

"This is complete bollocks. I'm sick of this, I'm sick of you always putting Scorpius down. He's better than the lot of you will ever be and he's the nicest boy you'd ever meet. I hope you choke on your tongue, James Potter."

She was sniffling now, feeling ashamed at her childish outburst but the fury hadn't cooled. Her entire family was either staring in open astonishment or in anger. Aunt Ginny was pursing her lips, apparently not liking the implication that she was a bitch. She wasn't and Rose felt bad for saying that, but James deserved to get slapped.

"Mum, I want to go home, I want to go home, please?"

She wanted to get out of her, forget that she had just shouted at her family and insulted her Aunt and slapped her cousin. She wanted to forget that the whole world seemed to be out to get Scorpius just because of his stupid surname and that she had been just as cruel by using that same name against him.

Her mother nodded silently, her father was still red faced. She could hear her family muttering amongst themselves, smiled weakly as Lily ran and hugged her good bye, whispering apologies for her stupid prat of a brother, watched Al look at her sadly. They were walking out of the room now when she ran back in to hug Aunt Ginny and apologize for insulting her.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," her aunt chided gently.

"You're right," she said, raising her chin defiantly. "When I see Scorpius again, I'll inform him that you're all sorry. Or at some of you are sorry gits!"

"Come off it," James snapped at her, "you know that little prat is just like his dad."

"You're right," she agreed, flatly, "Mr. Malfoy was perfectly nice to your siblings and I when we stayed at his house last summer." She watched as some of her uncles looked at each other surprised. So her dad hadn't told anyone. Interesting. "He even offered to buy my school things for me when I went back. I'll be sure to send him your love as well, you bunch of prejudiced pricks."

It felt nice to not be good little Rosie, the girl who was always calm and cool, who could do no wrong. She liked turning her family's axis, making them feel just as ashamed of their own childish grudges as she was ashamed of her outburst. She never swore this much in her entire life. Feeling exhausted, she turned and walked out the door.

It was Christmas Eve Day and Rose was angry. She had imagined ten different conversations while she cleaned the kitchen and the living room without magic, her punishment for her outburst at the Burrow. Then later while in her bedroom she had drawn out two charts and wrote out several lists to try and organize her thoughts but it was all in vain; nothing helped, nothing made her feel any better.

"Rose," she heard her dad calling from the kitchen, "come on, we're getting ready to leave!"

She grumbled something about the injustice of the world and walked downstairs, preparing herself for the pure torture that would be today and tomorrow night.

Hugo stood by the door, holding it open for her. "You'll be alright," he whispered, "if I have to, I'll hex the prat for you."

She smiled briefly at him.

The car ride into London was short. Her dad was muttering to himself and her mum looked very nice. She was smiling at nothing and Rose was curious but wisely kept her mouth shut. They were walking to the Leaky Cauldron silently. She couldn't do this. She wouldn't do this.

"Mum? Dad?"

Her father looked at her. "Yes, Rosie?"

"I forgot to buy Grandma a present," she lied easily. "Can I run really fast and grab it? I know what I want and I have some money on me."

Conquer and divide, conquer and divide. She learned fast that it was easier to get her parents to relent if she got one of them to agree, probably because neither of them wanted to argue. She could see her dad weakening. He glanced at her mum and whispered, "I don't know, it's not safe. You're just a kid."

"Father, I'm seventeen, which means I'm fully grown. I have a wand and I know how to use it." She pouted at him. "Please? I promise it won't take long."

He sighed, running his hand through his red hair. "Fine. You have ten minutes and if you're not back by then...we will go look for you and I won't be a happy trailer."

"Dad, it's 'camper', not 'trailer'," she informed him, grinning.

"Well, yes, you know me. I get those blasted Muggle sayings mixed up. Run like the wind, Rosie."

"Thanks dad."

She walked off towards Diagon Alley, thrilled for a moment to get her thoughts in order. She really didn't fancy seeing Scorpius at all, at least not until she had devised a plan, complete with a back-up idea, on getting him back. He would make her all flustered and he might even manage to provoke her into being crass right back, especially if he was still angry with her. Walking along the cobbled streets absentmindedly, fantasies involving Scorpius, something about forgiving her, and maybe even a snog or two whirling through her head, she turned into a darkened alley and continued on.

She walked into a dead end and stared uncomprehendingly. Where was she? None of the dreary store fronts looked familiar. Wrinkling her nose in disgust at a store that proclaimed in flashing letters 'FRESHLY DRAWN VIRGIN BLOOD HERE!', she hastened back the way she came.

"This must be Knockturn Alley," she muttered to herself, drawing her cloak tighter around her and staring curiously at the few wanderers. She wondered how long she had been gone. A woman grabbed her arm, pulling her roughly towards a ramshackle stand that surely had to be held together by some sort of magic.

"Would you like to buy some human eyeballs?" The woman was leering at her. This had to be a bad joke...but no, the woman was placing a jar filled with some sort of greenish liquid and...and...She covered her mouth with her hand, afraid she was going to be sick.

"Um, no, I think I'll be alright," she gasped, stifling a cry of horror. The woman had leaned closer, revealing that she only had one eye, the other one gouged away, the black pit in her face making Rose's stomach churn.

She walked away as fast as she could go; a glance revealed the entrance arch back to Diagon Alley. She was running when someone snatched her arm, dragging her between two stores. Her scream of terror had been muffled by the man's arm and though she kicked and flailed her arms about, nothing stopped him.

"_Silencio,_" he rasped. Another flick of his wand and her wand flew out of her shaking fingers, landing uselessly a couple of meters behind him. She tried to duck and run past him but he shoved her, hard. She groaned silently as her head smacked soundly against a trash bin, her body sliding to the ground. Her eyes were watering.

"I know a Weasley when I see one," the man was crouching in front of her, stroking her red hair. He was grinning madly at her, his hair matted and greasy. She hoped her mum and dad were looking for her. But would they think to search here? The last place she had used magic was in her bedroom and anyways, she was seventeen; she didn't have the Trace on her. "You're the Mudblood's child!"

His hoarse voice brought her back to the present. She felt dizzy and sick, realizing that the wet feeling on her neck was her own blood. Or maybe it was her tears; she couldn't tell.

His wand was drawn; pointed at her chest. "Shall I play with you first? Or should I have my way with you?" She was shaking now, staring at him wide eyed.

"_Crucio._"

Suddenly the worst pain she had ever felt in her entire life hit her. She was screaming, clawing at her clothes in agony. She wanted to die. No one was coming. "Please," she said, no sound escaping her mouth. Curling into a ball, the numbing cold of the snow not nearly as painful as the agonizing torture she felt. She wondered for a split second how someone could have this much hate.

She faintly heard him cast it again, screaming silently, the snow soaking through her clothes. She never wanted to die so much in her life. The sound of his raucous laughter and the yelling in her head whirled together in cacophony of sound that assaulted her ears. She was moaning now, arms curled around her body. Please, let it end.

She couldn't tell when the curse was lifted, the pain so real that she rolled over and heaved, the meager breakfast she'd eaten earlier burning up her throat. She heard a familiar voice shouting her name, heard the the voice shout.

"_Incarcerous!_"

And then someone was lifting her up, she was trying to talk, could feel her lips moving but heard nothing.

"_Finite Incantatem._"

She could hear her sobbing now, relaxing into the warm body of a boy with shining blond hair. He looked like an angel, all beauty and grace, his silvery hair surrounding his face like a halo. Maybe she had gotten her wish. Maybe she was dead? But if she was dead, why did she still hurt so much?

"Rose, Rose," she heard him say. Straining to focus her eyes, she finally realized Scorpius was holding her, cradling her body in his arm, brushing back her damp hair from her cheeks. His eyes were shiny. Why were they so damn sparkly? He already had beautiful eyes but now they looked positively ethereal.

Something dripped onto her face and she realized he was crying. "Rose..."

He was holding her against his chest and she could feel him standing up, still holding her tightly. Was this some kind of sick dream? She tried to touch his face to see if he was corporeal but her hand wouldn't move, she couldn't raise it.

He was still stroking her hair, the feel of his hand on her head calming. She was still crying, her throat hoarse and painful. She was gasping for air, trying to thank him or something but he murmured soothingly, "Shh...Rose, it's okay, don't try to speak, okay? I'm going to get you to your mum, it's okay."

She let the darkness drag her under, falling limp in his arms.

She woke up with the worst bloody headache of her life. Her arms and legs felt stiff and she was thirsty as all hell. But when she tried to stand, she found her wobbly legs wouldn't hold her upright and that the floor was rushing up to meet her. Closing her eyes, she braced herself for the fall when she felt arms wrap around her, pulling her up.

It was Scorpius who'd saved her from what would have been a nasty fall. His arms were still holding her tightly and then he was hugging her, crushing her against him. She silently pleaded with her arms, forcing them up, to wrap around his shoulders and keep him near her.

He pulled away, helping her back onto the bed. "What happened?"

He grabbed a glass resting on the unfamiliar table next to the bed and pointed his wand at it, murmuring, "_Aguamenti!_"

She watched as it filled up with water and when he handed it to her, gulped it down greedily, the liquid soothing her raw throat.

"Your mum and dad came in with Hugo but you weren't there. They said you went to grab something from Diagon Alley but you were gone for over a half hour. Your mum was frantic. We divided up the Alley but I heard laughing from Knockturn and went to see what it was." He was glaring at her fiercely now. "Rose, what the bloody hell were you THINKING? Why the hell did you go in there?"

"I was distracted. I was thinking about you."

His face visibly softened, his hand reaching out to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. "Rose, you have no idea how I felt when I saw you lying there. What happened to your wand?"

"He Disarmed me before I could think of a spell to cast," she admitted. Blurting out, before she could stop herself, she whispered, "Oh, Scorpius, I'm sorry. I'm so bloody sorry. I was so stupid. Please don't hate me."

"I could never hate you. I was going to pull you aside today and apologize. When I saw you on the ground, my heart felt like it was ripped from my chest. I don't know what I would have done if you..." he trailed off, clearly not wanting to finish his thought.

"I missed you so much," she murmured. He looked worse for the wear, his normally pale complexion down right sickly looking. His blond hair lacking its normal sheen and framing his face languidly. "How long have you been awake?"

"You've been out for three days. You're in the room my dad rented at the Leaky Cauldron. I've been here for about as long as you have."

"Oh, Scorpius," she sighed, "you haven't slept in three days?"

He rubbed his eyes, yawning. "I wanted to be with you when you woke up."

She grabbed his shoulder, attempting to drag him onto the bed next to her. He stretched out next to her, leaning back against the pillows. They lay in comfortable silence when suddenly Scorpius said, "Do you want to study together when we get back from break?"

"What about Antigone?"

Scorpius waved his hand lazily. "I paid her to pretend to go out with me. She was so angry the first time that when I asked her, she stomped on my foot and burnt off my eyebrow."

"So that's why you missed Herbology that day. Professor Longbottom was curious as to where you were."

"Yeah," Scorpius said, grinning at the memory. Her stomach flip-flopped. "Madam Pomfrey gave me the day off. It's the 'ole Malfoy charm."

"Look," they both said at once.

"You go fir-"

"So you don't mind studying with me?" Scorpius asked.

"No, not at all. What should we work on? We could work on Charms, I don't know how to cast Aguamenti right. The water comes out brownish."

Scorpius was blushing again. She peered at him. "Actually," he said, boldly, "I was hoping to study you. Of course, it works better if you're there in person."

Damn. She didn't know what to say. There was 'yes', which she felt would be too casual. She could say 'no' just to be cruel but she really didn't want to be cruel. She wished that she could be one of those girls who had cute, witty responses. But she was just Rose. Boring, stuffy Rose.

So she kissed him. And as he moaned in her mouth and tangled a hand in her hair, she was suddenly GLAD she was she was boring, stuffy Rose. Because boring, stuffy Rose was the one girl that boring, stuffy, afraid of heights, gorgeous Scorpius wanted. She may not have the ideal relationship, but she had the best relationship for HER, and really? That was all that mattered. Lily and Al and Hugo would just have to deal, she thought.

He was pulling away, breathing heavily, his pale cheeks red. Kissing her cheek gently, he whispered, "We still have to study for NEWTs though. I've been thinking, what if instead of just using Color Changing Charms we used Flashing Color Changing Charms as well?"

Yep. Same old Scorpius. And it felt good, no, _better_ than good to hear him say that. She just smiled happily at him and ordered him to kiss her again. And he did. Three minutes later, Mr. Malfoy barged in on them again. Five minutes later, her mum was sobbing and her dad was hugging her, looking suspiciously wet-eyed as well. Seven minutes later and Hugo, Albus, and Lily were surrounding her bed, suitably impressed as Scorpius dramatically described the scene.

And then her grandmother was squeezing her and to her utmost surprise, hugged Scorpius as well, crying loudly and telling him he could come over for the summer if he wished.

Rose was both sad and happy when they finally left, Al winking at them and stage whispering, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

She decided, that for now, adventure was a bit overrated. She wanted to enjoy some peace and calm with her best mate who was currently telling her just how beautiful he thought she was. And that he loved her.

Her mind was racing, going through various scenarios and conversations, imaginary lists of pros and cons flickering in and out of her brain but she ignored it completely and hugged him, whispering in his ear that she loved him too. Because she did. And this time, he didn't stop her when she ran her hand along his thigh, didn't stop her when she pulled off her shirt while trying to unbutton his at the same time. The only thought running through her mind besides hoping and praying that Mr. Malfoy would not barge in the room _this _time was that it was pretty **damn** good to be boring, stuffy Rose right now.

And then he was kissing her neck and Rose Weasley ceased thinking.


End file.
